Double unit electric weft detector for looms



April 8, 1947. R. G. TURNER 2,418,678

DOUBLE UNIT ELECTRIC WEFT DETECTOR FOR LOOMS File d March 1, 1946 INVENTOR RICHARD 6. TURNER ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 8, 1947 DOUBLE UNIT Ernestine. WEFT DETECTOR. FORLOOMS Richard Gr. Turner, Worcester, Mass-., assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works,..Wo'rcester,

Mass, aicorporation of- Massachusetts' I ApplicationMarch 1, 1946, Serial No. 6513072" curs in a weft detector of that type it is necessary to discard the whole: detector. and replace it with an'entirely new detector. It is an important object. of my present invention to provide a built up detector comprising two units each having identical parts, such as a supporting casing; detector finger; spring therefor, and binding post for the finger.

It is. another object of my present invention to provide adouble unit electric weft detector each unit of which employs a bowed sheet metal spring so disposed as to make room for a supporting hub orthelike' for the detector.

It is' a further object of the inventionto form each casing with a pair of similar spring posi tioning lugs one of which engages one end of the associated spring to-position the latter so that it will be contained within the outline of its casmg. other lug and the spring the latter is tapered, being broad at the end which engages the first lug and narrower at the end which i adjacent to theother or unused positioning lug. 7

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an electric detector made according to my present invention,

Fig. 2- is a front elevation looking in the direction of'arro'w 2,'Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation looking into the open side of one unit and showing the detector parts in normal position in full lines and in detecting positions in dotted lines,

. Fig; 4'15 avertical section on line 4-8 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section online' 55,.Fig. 3;.

Fig. 6' is a vertical; section on line 6-6:, Fig. 1;

and J Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the partition which separates-the two units;

In order to avoid interference between the Referring; particularly to Fig, 1', the-detector D' is adapted fordetermining: the condition of viewed" in Fig. 2 for engagement with the bobbin:

When sufiicient weft is present durihg'a detecting operation to cover the ferrule the detectors are insulated f'rorn each other; at their rear'ends, but when the weft is depleted the ferrule- II' isuncovered and thedetector-finger are electrically connected to' each, other: When this latter con-- dition occurs a detecting circuit not shown hereinis closed to initiate a change in loom operation. Each-finger I2 and f3 maybe providedwitlr adet'ectinggtip M. l

The detector is made of two detecting units A and B- and a partition or'separati'ngunit". C. Each of the units A and B includes a; casing I 5, and since" the casings of the two units are identical only one of them will be described in detail.

Referring particularly-to unitB shown in Fig. 3 thecas ing l'5-has front and-'back bearings 1-6 and t l formedintegral with a side wall [8. A top flange f9 extends laterally and horizontally from the wall it and connects the upper parts of the bearings t6 and I 1 and a lower flange 20' extends downwardly from the bearings and laterally from th'e wall t8. Flange 20 is provided with; thickened front and attachingwalls-- 2 l and ZZ 'r-espectiVeIY, and a; transverse hole 23" extends'thr'ough eachofthe walls 2 1: and 22;

The front bearinglii isprovided with a slot 25 which extends. alway'fromthe wall I8 and opens toward and registers with asi'milar' slot in the otherunit'. In similar manneigthe rear bearing ilfi'sprovid'edwith an open slotZB alsoopening away from'tlie Wall I8? The slots 25 a'nd"26 are: in horizontal alignment and are of the same width and depth. Formed on. the: wall' "I isasupporting boss 21 perforated as'atizfl to receive a support to be described. As: shown more particu' any in Fig. 4' there isextending from. the wall H3 a positioning mg 30. adjacent to. the: wall at, and: asimilar' positioning" lug 3 I is 1ocatedadjacent to wall 22; Both ofithe casings-for the units A; and B arei a'likean'd: it will be noted that each casingis symmetrical about avertical planepassing through the axis of aperturei28 Having more particular. reference to Fig.3an'd the unit B, a tapered "sheet metal spring 35 ha's'f, a. relatively wide forward" end 36 extending along 1 and positioned by the lug 30.' A screw or bolt" 31 forming the binding post of unit B extends through wall 21 and hasa-nut-SB hord's the spring firmly against wall 2! and establishes electric contact between the spring and binding post. The rear part of the spring is narrow as indicated at 3t and may extend up along the rear lug 3! without engaging it. The detector finger I3, similar to finger I2, comprises a straight wire 40 of conducting material to which is welded or otherwise secured a collar 4| the front shoulder of which receives the rearward thrust of the upper narrow end 39 of the spring, the latter holding the rear shoulder of the collar against the bearing I1. Unit A when viewed from its openside will have its spring 35 mounted on the rear wall 22 thereof by the associated binding post screw 31, and the collar 4| of finger 12 will b held in engagement with the front bearing [6.

A partition unit C is made' of insulating material and has a thin vertical wall 50 through which extend holes 5| corresponding to holes 23. Projecting laterally from wall 50 are oppositely extending pairs of front and back horizontal lugs 52 and 53, respectively, adapted to fit into the open slots 25 and 26 of the casings of units A and B to form slide bearings for the detector fingers. This relationship is shown more partic ularly in Fig. 4.

When the detector is to be assembled 'the units A and B are placed on opposite sides of the parti-- tion unit C and the lugs 52 and 53 fitted into their slots 25 and 26, after which screws or the like 55 are passed through the holes 23 and 5| to hold the two units and, partition together as a rigid structure. The lugs 52 and 53 do not extend to the inner ends of the slots 25 and 26 and are thus able to cooperate with the latter to define slide bearings for the fingers I 2 and I3. The lugs also prevent relative motion of the casings in a vertical direction. v

When the assembled detector is to be put in use it will be fitted to a threaded support 60 carried by some part of the loom. This support extends through the aligned apertures 28 of the two units and the detector can be adjusted along the support and held thereto by nuts BI and 62.

During'operation the springs will hold their respective detector fingers in rear detecting position as suggested in Fig. 1. When a bobbin engages the fingers it will move them from the full line, to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3,

the spring 35 of each unit resisting forward move-o ment of its associated finger and returning the lattertorearward position after each detecting operation. When the fingers engage a bare'ferrule an external detector circuit not shown will be closed-to initiate a change in loom operation. It will be seen from Fig. 3 that the shape of spring 35 is such that it does not interfere with the bosses 27 or support 60 when the detector fingers are in their forward position.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple form of electric weft detector comprising two detector units having identical casings eachlhaving its oWn detector finger, spring and binding post. Since the casings for the two units are identical a single mold will sufiice for.

their manufacture, and they can be made of a plastic material if desired. Each casing is symmetrical about a vertical plane perpendicular to its wall I 8 and detector finger passing through theaxis of the aperture 28. Sofar as certain features ofthe invention are concernedI do not Wish tobe limited to theparticular mounting for thedetecton shown more particularlyinFig. 6,

noris'the invention necessarily limited to plastic molded casings. It will be seen that each wall sulating material and having horizontally aligned,

I8 is provided with a pair of positioning lugs one of which engages the butt or wide end of the spring 35 and the other of which is out of engaging position with respect to the opposite or narrow end of the spring. The partition unit C is symmetrical about a vertical central axis and its lugs 52 and 53 can enter slots 25 and 25 without regard to which side of the wall faces a given unit.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In an electric weft detector for looms, a pair of detector units each including a casing made of insulating material and having a detector finger slidable thereon and having a spring secured at one end thereof to the casing and engagingthe finger at the other end thereof, said casings being identical and each being symmetrical about a central vertical'plane perpendicular to the associated finger, each casing having a front bear.- ing for the finger thereof alignedwith ajsimilar back bearing for the finger, andineans securing said casings together with the bearings of each casing horizontally aligned with the correspond symmetrical about a vertical plane perpendicular to said finger, and said finger being mountable in said bearings with the tip either behindor in front of said casing, to the end that twosuch units can be fastened together to form a detector with two fingers having their tips behind the casings.

3. A weft detector unit having an elongated detector finger with a detecting tip on one end thereof and the unit having a. spring for the finger, said unit including a casing made of infront and back slide bearings for the finger, front and back spring supporting walls on said casing, said casing being symmetrical about a central vertical plane perpendicular to said finger, said bearings being so related that-the finger;

can be placed therein with the tip either behind or in front of the casing, and the walls. being so constructed that the spring canbe attached to either one of them, depending upon the position of the tip relatively tothe casing, to the end that two such units can be fastened together to form a detector with two fingers having their tips behind the casings.

4. In an electricydetecting unitprovidedwith an elongated electric detector finger having a tip, a sheet metal spring having a relatively wide end and having a relatively narrow end for cooperation with the finger, a casing having provision for mounting the finger for horizontal sliding movement thereon with the tip eitherbehind or in front of said casing,,front and back spring supporting means on the casing toeither of which the wide end of said spring can be attached, depending upon whether the tip is behind orin front of said casing, and a pair-of spring .positioning bosses on the casing, one adjacent to each spring supporting means, adapted for engageamma ment with the relatively wide end of-the' said casing being symmetrical about a vertical.

axis passing midway between saidspring supfinger and a bowed sheet metal spring one end of which is operatively connected to the finger, said unit including a casing having horizontally aligned front and back slide bearings for the finger, front and back spring supporting means on the casing, and a supporting boss having an aperture therein the axis of which is horizontal and perpendicular to a vertical plane passing through said slide bearings, the bearings bein so disposed that the finger can be mounted therein with a given end thereof adjacent to either the front or the back bearing, said spring supporting means being so disposed that the end of the spring remote from that end thereof operatively connected to the finger can be attached to either the back or the front means, depending upon the position of said given end of said finger relatively to said bearings, and said boss being between the finger and the bowed part of the spring.

6. A casing for a weft detector unit having an elongated detector finger with a detecting tip on one end thereof and the unit having a spring for the finger, said casing being made of insulating material and having horizontally aligned laterally opening front and back finger guiding slots therein, and front and back spring supporting walls on said casing, said slots and walls being symmetrically disposed about a central vertical plane perpendicular to a line joining said slots, said slots being so related to each other and the casing that the finger can be placed in said slots with the tip either behind or in front of the casing, and the walls being so constructed that the spring can be attached to either one of them.

7. A casing for an electric weft detector unit employing an elongated detector finger having a tip on one end thereof and the unit having a spring for cooperation with the finger, said casing being made of insulating material and having a side wall from which front and back bearings project laterally, said bearings having horizontally aligned laterally opening bearing slots for the finger, and spring supporting walls extending laterally from said side wall and spaced vertically from said slots,.one supporting wall adjacent to each bearing, said casing being symmetrical about a central vertical plane perpendicular to a line joining said slots, said slots being so related that the finger can be inserted therein by a motion toward the side wall with said tip either behind or in front of said casing, and said spring supporting walls being so related that the spring can be secured either to the front or the back wall.

8. A casing for an electric weft detector unit employing an elongated detector finger having a tip on one end thereof and the unit having a spring for cooperation with the finger, said casing being made of insulating materialand having a vertical side wall having a horizontal top flange extending laterally therefrom, a curved flange extending laterally from the lower part of the side wall under said top flange, a bearing on the front part of said casing and a second 6 bearing; on the rearpart thereof, said bearings havinghorizont'ally aligned front and rear bear ing slots opening laterally" away from said side; wall, and spring holding wallson said side wall,

oneat the front of and the other at the rear of said casing, the latt'er beingsymmetricalabout a central vertical plane perpendicular to a line passing'through said slots, said slots being so disposed that the! fingercanbe: inserted therein by i a; motion toward the sidewall with said tip either behind or in front of the casing, and said spring supporting walls being so related that the spring can be supported by either the front or the back spring supporting wall and lie between said top flange and said curved flange.

9. A casing for an electric weft detector operating with an elongated contact finger having a tip at one end thereof and the unit having a finger controlling spring, said casing being made of insulating material and having similar h'orizontally aligned front and back horizontally opening bearing slots for said finger, a pair of spring mounting walls, one adjacent to the front slot and the other adjacent to the back slot, a control lug on said casing for support thereof having a horizontal axis transverse of a vertical plane passing through said slots, said casing being symmetrical about a vertical plane passing through said axis, said slots being so related that said finger can be inserted into them with said tip adjacent either to the back slot or the front slot, and said walls being so related that the spring can be fastened either to the front or the back mounting wall, depending upon the position of the tip relatively to said slots, to the end that two similar casings with their fingers and springs can be assembled with the axes of the central lugs of said casings aligned for cooperation with a common support.

10. A casing for a detector unit operating with an elongated electric detector finger and a spring therefor, said casing being made of insulating material and having a vertical side wall, said casing having horizontally aligned front and back bearing slots for the finger opening horizontally away from said side wall, front and back horizontally aligned spring supporting walls extending laterally from said side wall, and a supporting boss on said side wall having a horizontal aperture therethrough the axis of which is perpendicular to said side wall and located midway between said-spring supporting walls, said casing being symmetrical about a vertical plane passing through said axis.

11. A casing made of insulating material for an electric weft detector unit operating with an elongated weft detector finger, a side wall for said casing, front and back horizontally aligned bearing slots in said casing for said finger opening in a direction away from said side wall, and. a supporting boss on said side wall having an aperture therein the axis of which is perpendicular to said side Well, said casing being symmetrical about a vertical plane passing through said axis and between said slots.

12. A casing for an electric weft detector unit operating with an elongated electric detector finger having a tip and the unit having a spring for the finger, said casing being made of insulating material and having provision for mounting the finger for horizontal sliding motion with the tip either in front of or behind the casing, a side wall on said casing, front and back spring mounting means projecting laterally from said side wall, and a supporting boss on said side wall having a horizontal axis perpendicular to said sidewall,

said casing being symmetrical about a vertical plane passing through said axis and the spring being attachable to either of said spring mounting means depending upon the position of said tip relatively to said casing.

13. A separating partition for two detector units having identical casings each supporting a detector finger and a'spring therefor, said partition having a body of uniform thickness made of insu 10 8 V lating material and having a front pair of oppositely laterally extending lugs and having also a rear pair of oppositely laterally extending lugs horizontally aligned with the front pair of lugs,

, said lugs to cooperate with said casings to guide said fingers, and said partition being symmetrical about a vertical line in said body and located midway between said front pair and said rear pair of lugs.

RICHARD G. TURNER. 

